The 20 richest people on the planet

Microsoft founder Bill Gates remained in the top spot for the second year in a row, having added $3.2 billion to his personal wealth.

Tech tycoons continued to dominate, with Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin all appearing in the top 20. With the boom in Silicon Valley, Forbes notes that California is now home to 131 billionaires, "more than any other country besides China and the US."

#2 Carlos Slim Helu

Slim Helu came from humble beginnings. His father was an immigrant shoemaker and Slim built his fortune from almost nothing. And although he has billions now, friends say he wears cheap suits and prefers pen and paper to computers.